Do:
#1. So what happens when you played a game of soccer after church at the bottom of a mountain for 3 hours and the walk down the mountain took at least 30-45 minutes downhill? After playing for so long with about 11 of us, we decided that the walk up the mountain was way too hard and it would have taken too long! So of course we piled into the pastors truck. But what happens when only 7 can fit in the truck and 4 are left over? Get on the roof of course! haha rode up a mountain on the roof of a truck in India going at 60ish km/hr and around winding curves and weaving around speeding cars coming from the opposite direction!
#2. Get a hair cut! as you get your hair cut, they bring you chai (indian tea) and then they take a break, when you finish the tea, they continue. To finish it off, there's a good massage for head, neck and shoulders.
#3. Dirty toilet paper goes in the "rubbish bin" because the septic tanks can't handle toilet paper too well.
#4. Flush less frequently because water is precious
#5. Shower maybe twice a week if you're lucky. Water is freezing cold, and no one sweats so there's no point in showering every day. mmm smelly . . deodorant is mandatory for this office
#6. Unplug everything during storms, because the lightening strikes the tower next to the office and burns out every electric appliance that is plugged into the wall.
Don't:
#1. Look a girl in the eye, because then they will fall in love and you'll be in big trouble. It is culture for a man to exchange eye contact when he's interested in a girl. There are some schools here where the guys and girls are not allowed to speak / have relationships otherwise they can get suspended from school.
(this was explained by the bosses as they've had issues with past interns and this issue)
#2. Drink tap water
#3. Eat/Drink from dirty street vendors
#4 Expect a lot of personal space or free space - that's what we learned in culture training.
I don't have many pictures for you guys, sorry~ I'll grab a bunch on Wednesday and put them up for you. I'm heading out on Friday for our project trip. We're heading to Patna for 1.5 weeks and we won't have internet so I'll try to keep you all updated before then and when I return. Our job tasks will be within the first week to survey the sites (since we have two, it'll probably take a full day) then. The survey will be done with very primitive tools, such as a few tape measures, a compass, and a telescope level to judge topology. We did a practice run of using these instruments and the telescope is extremely sensitive and hard to use. We'll then be dealing with the clients and trying to see what they are trying to accomplish with the site and then work out a master plan with them. The project then comes back to the office where we'll be drafting and creating a report for the final steps of the schematic design stage. Although I'm making this sound simple, it'll probably take a while. I'm also cutting it short because the lights / power in the building just went out and I'm assuming that my computer is now in the danger zone.
Thanks for all the emails and updates on your end as well. Glad to hear that you're all doing well! =) God bless.
-J
#1. So what happens when you played a game of soccer after church at the bottom of a mountain for 3 hours and the walk down the mountain took at least 30-45 minutes downhill? After playing for so long with about 11 of us, we decided that the walk up the mountain was way too hard and it would have taken too long! So of course we piled into the pastors truck. But what happens when only 7 can fit in the truck and 4 are left over? Get on the roof of course! haha rode up a mountain on the roof of a truck in India going at 60ish km/hr and around winding curves and weaving around speeding cars coming from the opposite direction!
#2. Get a hair cut! as you get your hair cut, they bring you chai (indian tea) and then they take a break, when you finish the tea, they continue. To finish it off, there's a good massage for head, neck and shoulders.
#3. Dirty toilet paper goes in the "rubbish bin" because the septic tanks can't handle toilet paper too well.
#4. Flush less frequently because water is precious
#5. Shower maybe twice a week if you're lucky. Water is freezing cold, and no one sweats so there's no point in showering every day. mmm smelly . . deodorant is mandatory for this office
#6. Unplug everything during storms, because the lightening strikes the tower next to the office and burns out every electric appliance that is plugged into the wall.
Don't:
#1. Look a girl in the eye, because then they will fall in love and you'll be in big trouble. It is culture for a man to exchange eye contact when he's interested in a girl. There are some schools here where the guys and girls are not allowed to speak / have relationships otherwise they can get suspended from school.
(this was explained by the bosses as they've had issues with past interns and this issue)
#2. Drink tap water
#3. Eat/Drink from dirty street vendors
#4 Expect a lot of personal space or free space - that's what we learned in culture training.
I don't have many pictures for you guys, sorry~ I'll grab a bunch on Wednesday and put them up for you. I'm heading out on Friday for our project trip. We're heading to Patna for 1.5 weeks and we won't have internet so I'll try to keep you all updated before then and when I return. Our job tasks will be within the first week to survey the sites (since we have two, it'll probably take a full day) then. The survey will be done with very primitive tools, such as a few tape measures, a compass, and a telescope level to judge topology. We did a practice run of using these instruments and the telescope is extremely sensitive and hard to use. We'll then be dealing with the clients and trying to see what they are trying to accomplish with the site and then work out a master plan with them. The project then comes back to the office where we'll be drafting and creating a report for the final steps of the schematic design stage. Although I'm making this sound simple, it'll probably take a while. I'm also cutting it short because the lights / power in the building just went out and I'm assuming that my computer is now in the danger zone.
Thanks for all the emails and updates on your end as well. Glad to hear that you're all doing well! =) God bless.
-J
Hahaha, that's crazy about the no eye contact! That would add a whole other level to the opposite gender interaction. Glad to read your post and that you didn't fall off the top of that truck!
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